Mortal Kombat 2 needs to fix Cole Young since he was not received well by fans in the 2021 film, which rebooted the movie franchise. It was surprising that Cole Young led the cast of the 2021 movie, since he was a brand-new character who has never appeared in any of the Mortal Kombat video games. His prominent role is one of the reasons why the first movie received mixed reviews, since fans would rather watch their favorite characters from the games. Therefore, it’s crucial that the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2 fixes Cole Young to avoid more underwhelming reviews.

Thankfully, there will be a lot of new characters in Mortal Kombat 2, such as Johnny Cage, Shao Kahn, Quan Chi, and Kitana. These character inclusions will definitely make fans of the video games happy, but Mortal Kombat 2’s Cole Young problem still needs to be addressed. Ahead of its release, it has been suggested that Johnny Cage may actually replace Cole Young as the main character in the sequel. This could work, but here are six other ways Mortal Kombat 2 can fix Cole Young:

6

Turn Cole Young Into A New Version Of Scorpion

Scorpion Is The Most Popular Mortal Kombat Character

At the end of 2021’s Mortal Kombat, it was revealed that Cole Young is a descendant of Scorpion. While teaming up with Scorpion to take down Sub-Zero, Cole Young once again proved that he could be a valuable fighter for Earthrealm in the upcoming Mortal Kombat tournament. However, viewers were unfortunately underwhelmed by his powers in the first movie. Currently, Cole Young’s arcana gives him a set of golden armor that absorbs kinetic energy which can be turned into powerful attacks. Unfortunately, compared to some other characters, Cole Young’s arcana is quite boring.

However, since he is clearly a skilled fighter, this could be retconned in the sequel to make him more interesting to fans. Since Hanzo Hasashi is quite old in the first movie, Cole Young could instead adopt the Scorpion mantle in Mortal Kombat 2. There have been several versions of Scorpion in the games, so this could work quite well. Additionally, since Bi-Han will be turned into Noob Saibot in the sequel, Mortal Kombat 2 might also introduce a new version of Sub-Zero. Therefore, establishing Cole as a new Scorpion wouldn’t seem completely random.

5

Kill Cole Young Very Early In Mortal Kombat 2

Should The Mortal Kombat Tournament Begin With A Major Death?

Instead of embracing Cole Young’s backstory that the first movie dedicated quite a bit of time to, it’s also possible that Mortal Kombat 2 will kill Cole Young off very early. Since he is not liked by a lot of fans, many people would likely choose to have Cole Young die a brutal death at the beginning of the tournament in the upcoming sequel. By killing Cole so early, Mortal Kombat 2 would be admitting that his character didn’t work in the first movie and choosing to instead focus on fan-favorite characters from the video games.

Since the tournament will start at the beginning of Mortal Kombat 2, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for Cole Young to get killed early on. However, Cole Young at least needs to sacrifice himself in a heroic moment to protect Earthrealm’s other fighters. If this is the route that the sequel takes, it also can’t be ignored that Cole Young has a wife and daughter. Therefore, Mortal Kombat 2 can’t just simply cast aside the character, and at least needs to give him a somewhat satisfying death that tracks with the story of the first movie.

4

Have Cole Young Fully Replace Liu Kang

Mortal Kombat 2 Could Commit To Cole Young As The Main Character

While killing Cole Young early in Mortal Kombat 2 would make many fans happy, it may actually make the first movie much worse since he was set up as the main character of the rebooted franchise. Therefore, killing him off immediately in the sequel might actually not be best for the series. Instead of doing this, the upcoming movie could fully commit to Cole Young as the lead character and have him adopt Liu Kang’s role from the video games. Perhaps Liu Kang will die early in Mortal Kombat 2 instead and Cole Young will emerge as Earthrealm’s main champion.

If this happens, then Cole Young could be the one who ends up defeating Shao Kahn and saving Earthrealm at the end of Mortal Kombat 2. Obviously, this would make some video game fans very upset, but at least this option would follow the story of the first movie better. It’s clear that the first movie set Cole Young up to take on villains such as Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn, so his storyline may feel unresolved if these fights never happen.

3

Pair Cole Young Up With Johnny Cage

Cole Young Will Recruit Johnny Cage In Mortal Kombat 2

Since Cole Young’s character arc and powers in the first movie were underwhelming, it’s understandable that many fans don’t want him to lead the franchise going forward. However, perhaps Mortal Kombat 2 could make him part of a duo with Johnny Cage. Based on the ending of the first film, it seems like Cole Young will be the first character to meet Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2, which means their dynamic will be established very early in the sequel.

Since Johnny Cage can be quite an arrogant character, he and Cole Young probably won’t get along at first. In fact, most of Earthrealm’s champions probably won’t like the Hollywood movie star at the beginning of the sequel. However, it would be interesting if Cole Young is determined to work with and fight alongside Johnny Cage in Mortal Kombat 2. Since Johnny Cage is one of the most popular characters in the franchise, him learning to get along with Cole Young in the sequel may actually make audiences like the character much more.

2

Give Cole Young Way Less Screen Time

Cole Young Could Be Sidelined In Mortal Kombat 2

Even though Cole Young was the main character in the first film, his role could also just get reduced a lot in the sequel. Since Mortal Kombat 2 will include many new characters, who are all fighting in a high-stakes tournament, it would be easy to justify Cole Young’s lack of screen time. With this option, he doesn’t necessarily need to be killed off early in the movie. Instead, his fights in the tournament could just get less attention than those that feature characters like Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, and Liu Kang.

Cole Young could still have one or two fights against Outworld warriors in Mortal Kombat 2, but he could be viewed more as a member of the Earthrealm team rather than the lead character of the franchise. By giving Cole Young less screen time, Mortal Kombat 2 would be appeasing some critics of the first movie, but also not completely ignoring the storylines that the film set up. Therefore, simply reducing Cole Young’s screen time could be a good option for Mortal Kombat 2.

1

Have Shang Tsung Or Quan Chi Turn Cole Young Evil

Should Cole Young Fight For Outworld In Mortal Kombat 2?

Cole Young was definitely portrayed as a stereotypical hero in the first movie, which is part of the reason why his character was so underwhelming. Since Mortal Kombat is a franchise that is filled with many incredible characters, Cole Young and his boring personality don’t stand out at all. Therefore, Mortal Kombat 2 could completely shock audiences and turn him into a major villain. Even though he has been set up as an Earthrealm champion, perhaps Cole Young could fight for Outworld in the sequel.

In Mortal Kombat 2, a character like Shang Tsung or Quan Chi could use their dark magic to corrupt Cole Young and manipulate him into betraying Earthrealm. Perhaps Shang Tsung and Quan Chi could work together in this endeavor and establish the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Alliance. This idea may seem far-fetched, but at least it would be unexpected and add a fun twist to Cole Young’s character. Therefore, it could be interesting to see a much more evil version of Cole Young in Mortal Kombat 2.